By Hope
January, 1890
Andi’s head whipped up from where she was
crouched next to her goat, Rosie. The zing-zing-zing of milk into the pail
ceased. “In here, Jared.”
A minute or two later, Jared waddled in, his eyes
huge. He was silent except for the dripping on egg yolk onto the floor.
Andi gasped. Somehow, egg yolks were landing in a
splat onto the barn’s dirt floor. Egg shells littered his blonde hair. He
whimpered.
Fighting a smile, she guided him back to the
house. As Andi had guessed, the egg basked lay in a heap on the wooden floor.
She sighed.
After she cleaned him up, she headed back outside
to finish milking until she saw the stanchion. The goat was gone.
Groaning, Andi called for her. Where on earth
could she be? It was just five– maybe ten– minutes ago that she left her.
The grain pail was on the floor and licked clean. Frowning, she started the
search.
It wasn't until exactly 5 minutes later
that she found Rosie in the feed room, stuffing herself on… horror of horrors!
She gasped. Not the grain!
Andi rushed over and tried shoving her away. This
goat was like steel, connected to the grain bag. Tears sprang to her eyes as
the nasty goat stepped on her foot and kept stuffing herself on the precious
grain. Finally, she managed to yank her away only for her to step on her toes,
smashing them.
She slammed the stall door shut, took off her
boot, and massaged her sore toes. This was not turning out to be a good day.
><><><><><><><><
Three days later, Andi walked outside with a pail, whistling.
As she stepped into the barn to milk the nanny, she set the pail on the
stanchion and leaned over the stall door to greet her goats. The empty stall.
Frowning, Andi looked around the stall. Somehow, the goats had tossed a bucket
near the door, climbed onto the bucket, and hopped over the half-door. She
cringed. How smart were these goats?
As Andi searched around the yard, she
couldn’t help thinking of the words she had said to Riley when she got the
goats. “I won’t make the same mistake twice.” She shoved aside her irritation
and focused on finding them. A few minutes later, the mother goat was secured
in the stall with a bit of hay. The kids, on the other hand, were a bit
trickier. They zipped and darted around her, climbing all over the hay bales in
the hay barn.
Andi was fast, but not fast enough. She
eventually corralled them into the barn, where they reunited with their mother.
She snatched the bucket from the stall and slammed the door shut. What a
disaster!
Later that day, Andi let them out into their pen.
She knew it was secure. No goat could jump that fence. Or go under it, Andi
thought. But after today, she wouldn’t doubt if the goats dug a hole and
slipped under the fence!
Her worries were made clear the next
morning. The two kids had squeezed through a space that was smaller than both
her hands put together. She couldn’t believe it. The poor mama goat stood
inside the pen, bleating for her babies.
Andi huffed and went on the search for the
missing kids. She peeked into the hay barn, but it was silent. The tack room
and barn aisle showed the same results. She looked between sheds, under the
porch, and behind the barn. No sign of them.
Frowning, Andi plopped down on the porch
stairs and put her chin in her hands to think. If I were a goat, where would
I be? A moment later, a sharp cry pierced the yard, making Andi leap from
her seat. Another frantic cry carried to Andi’s ears as she raced toward the
unfortunate sound. When she reached the tool shed, the sight took her breath
away.
One of the two kids, whose name was Daisy,
had her two front legs tangled in fishing wire. She was on the ground, trying
to get out of it. The other kid, Clover, was bleating on top of the shed roof,
because he couldn’t get down. How he got up there, Andi would never
guess.
Retrieving a scissor from the house, Andi
started cutting away the wire that entangled poor Daisy. The instant the last
strand was cut, she leaped away, but not before Andi caught her and held her
while she helped Clover down from the roof. A goat in each arm, she lugged them
to the pen, patched up the hole in the fence, and did a thorough survey to the
other parts of the fence. It was clear that the hole was the only one. Andi
watched the group for a few minutes, then went inside.
><><><><><><><><
Over the next few days, Andi was relieved
to see that the goats did not escape anymore. Riley properly fixed the hole
where the kids got out, and everyone seemed happy. Until a particular rainy and
cold winter day.
The town was buzzing with disappointment
because this winter appeared to be “record-breaking low temperatures” , says
one bystander, as Andi walked along the sidewalk. She wore her thick, woolen
coat and stockings, but she could see her breath go as vapor in the cold, still
air. Jared whimpered.
She went back to the buggy and clucked to
the horses. They shifted nervously and trotted along the road. Andi felt sorry
for them. As they made the turn to their house, small flecks of white fluttered
around them. Snow!
As a child, Andi was always excited on the
rare occasions that it snowed. She and Melinda would have snowball fights,
build snowmen, and make snow angels. They would sit around the cozy fire and
watch the snow fall out the window. More often than not, though, the snow would
not be enough to do anything but tell her that it was cold outside.
This was not a laughing matter for
her now, though. Snow meant colder temperatures, colder house, colder stove.
Andi slapped the reins on the horses and they broke into a fast trot.
As she rode into the yard, she knew the
temperature had dropped by at least ten degrees from the time she got in the
buggy and went into the yard an hour later. A storm was coming, and it was
coming fast.
Andi carried Jared inside, then came back
out and unhitched the horses. She tossed them some hay and headed inside, numb
with cold. The wind was starting to blow outside, and the ground was already
covered in a thin layer of white dusting. She fumbled with the stove, which
decided to welcome her with a cheery flame. Andi choked back a sob of thanks
and shut the stove door.
Andi wrapped Jared in a woolen blanket and
watched out the window to where the snow was falling on the ground. She
shivered.
An hour later, a gush of wind
followed Riley as he stumbled through the door. Shaking the snow from his
boots, he shook his head. “This is going to be a bad one.”
Nodding, Andi dished him a plate of supper
and joined him at the table. “How is everything out there?”
Riley smiled faintly at her. “As far as I
know, fine. I put the horses in the barn. Did you happen to check the goats
today?”
Andi shook her head. “It was so cold, I was
focused on Jared and the horses.” Andi assumed they would be fine in the warm,
cozy barn.
“How long do you think it will last?” Andi
said in a worried voice.
“A few hours, or overnight at the most.
Shouldn’t be too long before it slows down.” He gave Andi a reassuring smile.
“Don’t worry about your goats. I’ll be sure to check on them in the morning.”
Andi let out a breath. “Thank you.”
It will end soon. Andi told herself.
But she couldn’t stop thinking that out there, somewhere, something was about
to go wrong.
2
The next morning, Andi fixed herself a cup
of coffee before heading outside into the gloom. At least it wasn’t snowing
anymore. But the ground was covered in a couple inches of white fluff. “All of
this in one night?” Andi shook her head and bundled herself in her thick,
woolen coat and stockings. Andi took a deep breath as she stepped outside.
It wasn’t as cold as she feared. But as she
took the first step off the porch, her book sunk up to her ankle in snow. The
walk to the barn was even worse. Crunching her way along, Andi opened the barn
doors and stepped into the warm barn. Shasta nickered when he saw her, and so
did a few other horses. They looked unhappy.
Andi walked up the aisle to the far
end and stopped in front of her goat’s stall. Leaning over the door, Andi’s
eyes met with two pairs of eyes looking up at her. Andi’s heart skipped a beat.
Rosie and Daisy were chewing their cuds. Clover was missing.
Turning away, Andi looked around the barn
for the lost kid. After a thorough search, Andi concluded that the kid had
escaped outside. She sucked in a breath. How long ago?
Andi stepped outside and shut the door to
keep the warm air in the barn. She walked around outside the barn, then near
the bunkhouse. She called for him and searched everywhere. He was nowhere to be
seen. After a good half hour, Andi admitted defeat. Perhaps the goat had found
a cozy place to hide, somewhere Andi hadn’t looked. Wherever he was, Andi
couldn’t find him without help. Heading inside, Andi shook her head sadly.
Goats.
><><><><><><><><
As soon as Riley stepped through the
door, Andi cornered him. “Clover’s missing, and I’ve looked everywhere.” Her
head pounded with worry. She hoped it wasn’t the same fate that Jasper, her
lamb, had succumbed to all those months ago.
Riley looked at her. “Are you sure?”
Andi nodded. When she had fed and watered
the goats earlier that afternoon, he was still missing.
“I’ll look for him before the sun
goes down.” Riley grabbed his hat and headed back out the door.
><><><><><><><><
Thirty minutes later, Riley returned with a
cold, unhappy buckling. He put him with the others, but Andi didn’t understand
how he got out in the first place “The stall’s locked tight.”
RIley shrugged. “I suppose we should have checked
every crack and hole in there.” He sighed. “I don’t know about these
goats, Andi.”
Andi’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s
wrong?”
Riley shook his head. “It’s too much work
for you, Andi.” He eyed her. “This is different from Jasper. He was a sheep.
But these goats need milking, feeding, and constant watching so they don’t
escape, which is all too much for you and Jared.”
“The ranch hands can milk them if you’re
that worried.”
“True, but that isn’t my only concern.”
Silent, Andi faced the window. She really
liked her goats. But to say she loved them, she couldn’t. She admitted that
sometimes they were annoying, but still… “You were the one who gave them to me.
Remember?”
Riley nodded. “But I should have known
better. Sheep and goats are too much for one person to handle. I should have
learned from Jasper. Do you understand?”
Andi looked away. Rosie and the babies were
so perfect at first, but as the weeks came by, they did horrible things. Once,
the trio escaped yet again and chewed up a good portion of the wooden fences in
the south paddock. Another time, they jumped all over the good saddles in the
tack room and ruined a couple of the good ones with their muddy hooves. Nothing
a good scrubbing couldn’t fix, but still… “I don’t know, Riley.”
“Remember what happened in the cookhouse?”
Andi cringed. Of course she remembered.
Daisy had eaten a good portion of the stash of cornmeal in the cookhouse.
Carlos had complained for a full day about spoiling what was left.
Andi sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
Riley stood. “I’ll see to it that they are
advertised as soon as possible.” He smiled at Andi. “Thank you for not getting
upset.”
Andi just shrugged.
3
“Andi, come here for a minute.” Riley waved
her over. Church had barely gotten out, and Riley was talking to a young woman
who had two small children. Andi hurried over.
He introduced her to them. “Mrs. Hill is
interested in your goats.”
Andi smiled. “Is that so?”
The woman smiled faintly. “It is. I have
been looking for quite a while now, but it seems like nobody was selling milk
producers. Well, until now.”
“Let’s discuss it, shall we?”
><><><><><><><><
The next day, Mrs. Hill came by to see the
goats. “I dare say they are the best looking ones I have seen,” she said,
smiling. “I’ve decided I would like to buy them.”
“I’m sure we can arrange that. When would
you like to pick them up?” said Riley.
“Is tomorrow too soon?”
“Not at all.”
As they walked back to Mrs. Hill’s buggy, a
slight commotion turned them around.
“Mamaaaa!!” A sharp wailing erupted
from the barn.
Andi took off running and stopped short
when she reached the barn. The baby goats had slipped through the door crack
and were jumping on Jared, muddy hooves and all. How they got muddy Andi
couldn’t guess. “Jared!”
Andi hurried over and plucked Jared from
under the goats. He sobbed, dirty tears streaking his face. When Riley saw the
situation, his jaw dropped. Silently, Andi walked out of the barn.
“What happened, my dear?” An apologetic
Mrs. Hill stood near her buggy.
“I… well… I must have left the door open,
and the goats got out. They… ah…” Andi broke off, seeing the woman had caught
on. Her eyes opened wide when she saw Jared. “Well I’ll be…”
Andi shifted and replied quickly. “I’m
sorry if you aren’t interested anymore, I understand. I’m sure someone else…”
She trailed off when the woman waved at her.
“No need. I’ll take them.” The woman’s eyes
twinkled. “I can already see they are being too much of a hassle for you.
‘Shouldn’t have to wait another day or two. How much do you want?”
Andi’s eyes opened wide. “Are you sure?”
The woman smiled. “I’ve raised enough goats
in my days to know that they will do what they want, no matter what you say.
Don’t take it to heart. Now, shall we discuss it?”
An hour later, the buggy rolled off down
the driveway, with the goat and kids tied securely behind. The woman had
insisted on payment, no matter what Andi nor Riley had said. Thankfully, now,
it was over.
“Riley?”
RIley turned. “Hmm?”
“Did we do the right thing? I mean, selling
them and all?”
RIley pushed back his hat. “It depends on
the way you look at it. But yes, I suppose you did.”
“Me?”
“You were the one who decided to sell them
after all, right? I was only the one who simply suggested it.”
Andi grinned. “I suppose you're right. At
least it's over now. No more escapes.”
“No more lost goat kids.”
“No more goats, period.”
Riley laughed. “Sure.”
THE END
“To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every
purpose under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
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